WATSONVILLE — Workers at Lakeside Organic Gardens of Watsonville were honored with a hot lunch served at the edge of a farm Thursday. The annual gesture is a way for the folks at Charlie Hong Kong Restaurant of Santa Cruz, who served the meal, to give thanks to the laborers that harvest many of the organic products served at the restaurant.
“We want to recognize the unsung heroes who harvest chard and all other organic vegetables for our restaurant; without them we would not have fresh organic produce every day,” said Carolyn Rudolph, owner of Charlie Hong Kong. “We want them to taste the food we’re producing as a result of their hard labor.”
Rudolph, and her husband, Rudy, have been buying produce from Lakeside Organic Gardens for 18 years and estimate to have purchased close to 34,000 pounds of chard per year.
Approximately 2 cups of mixed vegetables (including chard) go into every noodle bowl they sell at their restaurant.
Dick Peixoto owner of Lakeside Organic Gardens said, “Our California home provides us with beautiful, unbelievably rich and fertile land to grow on. At Lakeside Organic Gardens, we have a tradition of honoring the land by growing the finest organic
produce we possibly can. We grow over 45 organic vegetables year-round in the Pajaro Valley.”
In 1998, Charlie Hong Kong was opened on the corner of Seabright and Soquel avenues. Their goal is to create a neighborhood eatery with a menu that offers healthy, abundant, flavorful food, at good value, said Carolyn Rudolph.
